2.25/5
204 reviews
Photo by Laercio Cavalcanti via Unsplash

Pai

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chiang

mai

awesome

avoid

waterfalls

locals

nomads

good

english

Pai is a popular choice among digital nomads moving north from Bangkok or Chiang Mai. The cost of living is low, internet is fast, and the town has a more laid-back vibe than Chiang Mai. Cafes like The Pedlar have become remote working hubs, and the healthy food and kind locals add to the appeal. Community growth is gradually picking up, with activities like yoga and a vibrant night market available. Visitors recommend the area during the cool or rainy seasons, when the scenery is at its best.

That said, there are a few downsides to keep in mind. Pai is remote and the windy mountain road in is known to cause motion sickness. Medical facilities are limited and coworking spaces are scarce, though some don’t mind working from cafes or private spots. April is best avoided due to heavy smoke that settles in the valley, and finding long-term housing can be tricky — contacting hosts directly via Google Maps seems to be the most effective method. Also, be wary of local scams involving weed around the waterfalls; police reportedly stop and search returning visitors.

All in all, Pai suits those seeking peace, affordability, and a slower pace of life away from city stress.

AI-generated summary of reviews
57 years ago

Lovable place for peace and quiet. Went over a year ago and it's just starting to get some more development. Night market is awesome. People are kind and food is awesome and healthy. Several yoga studios.

Being so far away on a vomit inducing highway is an obvious minus. Lack of options for medical facilities and coworking spaces (but honestly I'd rather work in private). Difficult to find housing, best to contact people directly from houses on Google maps.

1 year ago

avoid going to the waterfalls with weed (or buying any on the way there)
It's a very old trick the cops stop & search bikes on their way back.
(while the locals try to sell you stuff on the way there)

6 years ago

Lots of digital nomads seem to be moving up to Pai. It's way more chilled out than Chiang Mai, way cheaper and there's a few good cafes popped up that're ideal for working from (Check out The Pedlar).

Not sure why NomadList says English is bad here.. most of the locals speak very good English. Avoid coming here in April though, it's way smokier than Chiang Mai due to its geography. Pai sits in a valley so it sort of wallows in the smoke if there's no wind.

Definitely come here in the Rainy/Cool seasons - it's absolutely beautiful!

6 years ago

It’s easy to see why digital nomads head north from Bangkok and Chiang Mai to take advantage of the ast internet and cheap cost of living in idyllic Pai. Well-connected to Chiang Mai via bus and plane, Pai makes a great break from city life with its waterfalls, hot springs, spas, elephant treks and Pai Canyon.

8 years ago

✅ Very affordable

✅ Fast internet

✅ Friendly people

✅ Peaceful and relaxed

✅ Good cafes for working

✅ Healthy food options

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Very safe

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Difficult to reach

❌ Limited medical facilities

❌ Difficult housing situation

❌ Smoky in April

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not very democratic

❌ Not much to do

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Roads are very dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

28°C / 82°F warm

29°C / 84°F warm

33°C / 91°F hot

34°C / 93°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

34°C / 93°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

30°C / 86°F warm

23°C / 73°F mild

Real (median)

26°C / 79°F
warm

27°C / 81°F
warm

32°C / 90°F
hot

30°C / 86°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

27°C / 81°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

29°C / 83°F
very warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

26°C / 79°F
warm

23°C / 73°F
mild

Humidity

nice
70%

nice
59%

nice
39%

nice
68%

sweaty
73%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
90%

sweaty
88%

nice
88%

nice
74%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
8mm

dry
5mm

dry
12mm

rainy
59mm

rainy
169mm

rainy
164mm

rainy
277mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
265mm

rainy
144mm

dry
39mm

dry
2mm

Cloud

pockets
18%

pockets
14%

pockets
13%

pockets
44%

pockets
42%

cloudy
64%

cloudy
62%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
51%

pockets
38%

pockets
19%

Air quality

okay
70 US AQI

bad
151 US AQI

bad
221 US AQI

bad
174 US AQI

okay
90 US AQI

clean
22 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
18 US AQI

clean
20 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
51 US AQI

okay
63 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

700 people

420 people

367 people

375 people

371 people

400 people

500 people

267 people

520 people

620 people

717 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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✈️12h

$5,615 / mo

26 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 10° 50° 10° 50° AQI 26

✈️13h

$3,733 / mo

102 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️11h

$4,102 / mo

43 Mbps

Detroit, MI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels -5° 23° -1° 30°

✈️18h

$4,802 / mo

68 Mbps

Hanoi

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 28° 82° 26° 79° AQI 163 😷

✈️1h

$1,058 / mo

11 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80°

✈️1h

$2,190 / mo

🌇 Also went here84 people

Phuket

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

✈️11h

$4,102 / mo

🌇 Also went here79 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 6° 43° 7° 45° AQI 55 😷

✈️11h

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Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.25/5 (Rank #1018) 204 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	9% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,335 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 19 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Bad
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 22°C71°F (feels 22°C72°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 63%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Low: 37%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 24 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Bad
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Okay
💰 Income level*	Very low: $493 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
😄 Happiness*	Good
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Thailand
🗓️ Average trip length	4 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	19 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 22°C 71°F + 😊 Comfy (63%) = feels 22°C 72°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 24 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 THB in USD	USD 3.19
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	THB 10,000 = USD 319
💸 Tipping	Yes, 5%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	All About Coffee
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	9% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	2,300 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$5,911 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 82% 👱‍♀️ 18%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Lazada
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Asia

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,335 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$890 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,393 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$684 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$607 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,076 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$587 / month
🏠 Median home price	$143,746
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$28 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$35 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$358 / month
🍛 Dinner	$1
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$0
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$7,983 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$5 / month